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Glite Dictionary
😳 Great embarrassment 🙏 Self-denial 🦠 Tissue death
mortification

mortification

1 9.9
Death of body tissue in one place often caused by infection
  • noun
  • /ˌmɔːrtɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/
  • Specialized
translation icon : mortificación
  • Is the relative recency of the sheep's mortification a good sign or bad?
  • mortification process

Examples

  • The doctor warned that if the blood supply is not restored quickly, mortification of his toe could occur.

  • After the accident, the wound began to show signs of mortification, alarming the medical staff.

  • The patient was at risk of developing mortification due to the lack of circulation in his leg.

Synonyms

gangrene
vsmortification
  • Specialized
16 8.7

Dead tissue caused by infection or loss of blood

is the medical synonym often used interchangeably for that same condition
necrosis
vsmortification
  • Specialized
11 8.2

Death of body cells and tissue in one area caused by injury, infection, or loss of blood

is narrower, often implying infected decay rather than any cell death
sphacelus
vsmortification
  • Specialized
9.9

Dead body tissue caused by disease or injury that often turns black

is the same process but is used more as the general condition term
myonecrosis
vsmortification
  • Specialized
9.9

Muscle tissue in one area dies, often because of infection or injury

is broader, applying to any tissue type rather than only muscle
caseation
vsmortification
  • Specialized
9.9

A soft, cheese-like change in body tissue that has died

is the general term that covers many types of localized tissue death

Compounds

self-mortification
  • NSFW
9.9

A practice of hurting yourself on purpose to show discipline or say sorry, often for religious reasons

Surface Forms

mortification singular
mortifications plural

Morphology

mortification = mortify (opaque) = mort + ify + ation

The noun is formed from the verb 'mortify' with '-ation', but the specialized medical sense 'localized death of tissue' is not readily inferable for an average learner.

Etymology

Mortification comes from the root mort- which means 'death', the same root you see in mortal and mortuary. It originally meant 'to make dead', so in medicine mortification is the death of living tissue.